The Totally NEW Team Corwin Thread

June 24th, 2012, 21:23

I think we should do all of Korthos on elite when we TR. We need the XP and favor. My TR'ed toon will be able to open everything on elite since he's a TR2. Needing 4.3 mill XP means I will have to farm quite a few quests.

I'm not sure when we will be TR'ing. My pally needs to do 2 more Shroud runs and will be done on Thursday. Then he gets his next essence of cleansing and will craft a triple negative cloak. He already has 2 T3 GS khopeshes, GS sp item and GS hp item. So in one week he can TR.

What shall we do with our level 16 toons? Shall we continue with them on the Friday night sessions and run the TR's during week days. I think that could be a good idea since we can do level 1-4 quests on elite solo or with a less than full group and hirelings. However, it could be fun to be a full group and blitz through low level quests on elite.

I will TR Peters and probably do a paladin (either human or half-elf).

Is power attack still useful after the expansion or should I drop getting it. If the former I need to be a human. If the latter I can be a half-elf and become a FVS dilettante for raise dead and heal scrolls.

Alrik, will you make a new character too and play with us? If we have everybody logged in on Fridays we can make two 4-man teams and do everything on elite. I can open on elite in one group and CM in another.

So we have 2 melees, 2 healers, 1 caster (if we consider the druid a caster too), 1 trap monkey

Maybe Alrik wants to be an artificer? Then he can be a ranged fighter with trap capabilities. We probably need another caster, but I'm not sure if Trevor or Jm want to play another one. Or maybe Alrik wants to do another caster?

It would be nice to have 2 teams which can deal with most quests. This way nobody will have to be left out if more than 6 show up.

Originally Posted by dteowner
Finally broke down and bought the expansion. Now I've got to make a decision. I've got 1 greater tome to dole out. It seems that would be best applied to Wouldii so that he gets 20 levels worth of XP bonus, but last Friday the group seemed rather set on putting the tome on Phuury. Thoughts?

I think you will get most benefit from the greater tome if you put it on the one you will TR after the expansion. When you can keep up with the rest of us using tomes. You can always get a lesser tome for Phuury, but he's soon at level 16 so you're not that far from level 20. So I think the greater tome is best used from level 1.

Ok, so I'm having one of those DDO days when the ai is off some (well, more than usual).

I have my lvl 9 sorc on Ghallanda and running stk elite for favor. So, you know the 2 witch doctors in sacred helm? The ones that like to throw ray of enfeeblement? Did I mention my Sorc on Ghallanda is a halfling? Ok, so you can guess what happened right?

So sorc is sitting there helpless with her 0 str, and marissa is nearby while this witch doctor proceeds to hammer her with scorching ray. Going down fast…. look to see is marissa nearby? Yes….. she's right there turned towards me. so i furiously click the cure crit icon….. too late…. oh well, s—- happens right?

So I ask out loud why in god's name do I keep you around? I swear I heard a voice say "Why, to look pretty, of course."

Originally Posted by Peter Stauffenberg
Alrik, will you make a new character too and play with us? If we have everybody logged in on Fridays we can make two 4-man teams and do everything on elite. I can open on elite in one group and CM in another.

So we have 2 melees, 2 healers, 1 caster (if we consider the druid a caster too), 1 trap monkey

Maybe Alrik wants to be an artificer? Then he can be a ranged fighter with trap capabilities. We probably need another caster, but I'm not sure if Trevor or Jm want to play another one. Or maybe Alrik wants to do another caster?

It would be nice to have 2 teams which can deal with most quests. This way nobody will have to be left out if more than 6 show up.

Hm, good idea. Why didn't I have it in the first place ?

My Artificer just turned 5 a few days ago.
I could make my favoured soul, the class I had bought recently and I'm eager to play it.

But right now i wonder which race I should play with it, and whether i should do a splash of something. I have come to prefer Drow by now, I just like how they look like.

Right now, I'm leaning towards making the FVS an offensive caster with some slight healing abilities (although not so much that it would kind of cripple the offensive character of dealing with things/enemies).

If you have any more tips regarding the FVS I would be glad to hear/read them. I have been browsing around in the forums a bit and most posters agree that there are more or less play styles for the FVS :

- melee
- healer / buffer
- offensive caster

depending on if one is taking emphasis on one thing or another, and taking everything of these 3 styles is nearly impossible for a first-liver, people say, at least it requires a lot of very good gear, they say.

If you have reached level 5-6 I could jump in with my Artificer as well, and after that around level 9 with my wizard.

Originally Posted by Peter Stauffenberg
What shall we do with our level 16 toons? Shall we continue with them on the Friday night sessions and run the TR's during week days. I think that could be a good idea since we can do level 1-4 quests on elite solo or with a less than full group and hirelings. However, it could be fun to be a full group and blitz through low level quests on elite.

I could join with my Ranger, too.
I just need to know when you are in need of my help.

Edit : Looking back a bit :

Originally Posted by azraelck
For the Favored Soul and Cleric both, their most effective role is Healing and 1 other. You can build either for melee, or for offensive casting. Pick one. Trying to do both requires a lot of effort and gear. It takes some practice to be able to watch health bars from the corner of your eye while fighting/casting, and being able to keep people up, but it's worth it. It's also going to take practice to know when to back off and just heal.

You'll also be spammed incessantly with /tells and party invites. The path of the Divine Caster…

Originally Posted by azraelck
I greatly enjoyed playing mine, though it's not a class thats easy for a beginner. I'd recommend playing a Cleric first, as they share the same spell list. If you go for offensive casting, you max Wisdom, and you need a total of 19 Charisma, tomes and items and ship buffs included, to cast level 9 spells. I went melee on mine, dumped Wisdom completely, and maxed Strength.

Can the FVS transfer scrolls into the own spellbook like wizards can ?

— “ Any intelligent fool can make things bigger, more complex, and more violent. It takes a touch of genius – and a lot of courage – to move in the opposite direction.“ (E.F.Schumacher, Economist, Source)

Originally Posted by Peter Stauffenberg
I think we should do all of Korthos on elite when we TR. We need the XP and favor. My TR'ed toon will be able to open everything on elite since he's a TR2. Needing 4.3 mill XP means I will have to farm quite a few quests.

I'm not sure when we will be TR'ing. My pally needs to do 2 more Shroud runs and will be done on Thursday. Then he gets his next essence of cleansing and will craft a triple negative cloak. He already has 2 T3 GS khopeshes, GS sp item and GS hp item. So in one week he can TR.

What shall we do with our level 16 toons? Shall we continue with them on the Friday night sessions and run the TR's during week days. I think that could be a good idea since we can do level 1-4 quests on elite solo or with a less than full group and hirelings. However, it could be fun to be a full group and blitz through low level quests on elite.

I don't see any reason we can't bounce back and forth for some variety. Gives us some flexibility for when people aren't around, too. (my attendence this week and next will be highly dependent on the progress of my shutdown project at work)

There are several of us interested in getting out of Korthos, Az in particular. As I mentioned, I have a little bit of gear squirreled away, too, although nothing I can't live without should it work out that way. I don't remember which quests have to be done in order to leave, but I think it's just the 3 "in town". If that's the case, let's plan on making that happen. Running on normal, we should be able to get off the island individually. Then, everyone can get to a bank and get the gear they want. After that, we ALL go back to Korthos together and clear the island on elite. As long as everyone does the same thing, we'll have no problems.

Remember that I'll be a little behind on healing abilities. I'm taking my 2 arty levels at 1 and 3. Gotta do it at 1 for the extra skill points. Taking a cleric level at 2 to at least get the cure light going. Then going back to arty at 3 to get that part of the build wrapped up. Might not be all bad to have everyone get a stack of cure moderate potions in House K to keep afloat for the first few levels.

— Sorry. No pearls of wisdom in this oyster.
Dallas Cowboys: Great Season! / / Detroit Red Wings: Another rollercoaster this year?

I agree with leaving Korthos immediately before returning to do elite runs. For Fridays, I think we should first get all our current TR's to level 17 so they are Vale ready. Then we might be able to run them on Saturdays or Sundays (US time) with various mixtures till we get them to cap. That might take 1-2 weeks which will allow time for me to research how people are building druids for success. Az and I have discussed builds, but I still want to try a few things out on Cannith before I TR. I certainly like the concept of 2 groups IF Alrik (and anyone else) is willing to commit to playing regularly on a Friday night.

Originally Posted by Peter Stauffenberg
I think we should do all of Korthos on elite when we TR. We need the XP and favor. My TR'ed toon will be able to open everything on elite since he's a TR2. Needing 4.3 mill XP means I will have to farm quite a few quests.

You misunderstand. I have no intention of skipping Korthos. I just want to get my Rogue into the guild. Which means leaving Korthos and heading to Stormreach.

You can leave Korthos at any time after completing the Grotto. So we can run that, run out and get/craft any gear we desire, come back, and be ready to roll all the quests on elite.

As of right now, I don't know how PA will turn out. I've heard it's ruined and will lower dps. I've also heard that the to-hit penalty no longer matters. I've also heard that nothing is changing in regards to player to-hit. So, in short, the DDO forums are useless for that, and I would plan on taking it. If it doesn't work out, you get a free feat swap.

Alrik, Favored Souls chose spells as they level. They get only a limited selection, which costs plat to swap one spell at a time at the trainer. This is why I suggested Cleric first; Clerics get all the spells they can know when they level up, and can swap them in and out as they need to. So you can learn what works well and where, and what to take when you do run a FvS.

Only Wizards and Artificers inscribe scrolls into their books. Clerics and Druids get all their available spells, Sorcerers, Favored Souls, and Bards have to choose spells as they level, and can't swap them except at a trainer.

There are really only two main ways to build a FvS:
Healer/Melee
Healer/Offensive Caster.

The third choice is Gimp.

For a casting FvS, or Evoker, max out Wisdom and put every level up point into it. CON 14 at least, at least 12 CHA to start, with the rest into STR. Since you have 28 point builds, that works out to STR 10, DEX 8, CON 14, INT 8, WIS 18, CHA 12.

You only need CHA up to 19 to cast all your spells, which is trivial to get. Many geared players dump CHA entirely and rely on gear, buffs, and enhancements. 12 means with Ship buff alone you'll have 14, or level 4 spells, and the level 2 CHA boosting spell will net you 18. Enhancements can fill in where needed. Once you get a CHA item, you won't even need those. And the level 20 capstone gives you 2 CHA.

Quite honestly, I'd get 32 point builds opened up before building a FvS. Makes it so much easier. Those 4 points mean a 14 STR, which will be useful early on as you don't have any great offensive spells until spell level 5.

As far as healing goes, any build of Favored Soul should be able to and willing to heal. Max out your healing amplification line, carry the best Devotion* item you can find, and you're done. Healing play is a mindset as much as anything else. You have to be able to watch the health bars of your allies, and willing to stand back and heal them as needed. An offensive caster will also have to learn to judge where their sp are best spent, and when to back off of casting to focus on healing. Melee FvS are a bit more lenient in that respect, as they just have to learn to manage aggro and know when to back down and heal. At one point, I was pretty decent at that. Probably not now, since I haven't ran a divine caster in a group in awhile.

For Feats, you want Toughness, Empower Spell, Maximize Spell, and Quicken as required. Beyond that, I recommend two Spell Focuses in Evocation, and you have 1 "free" feat for Spell Penetration (value depends on what you're running), Extend (not too useful unless you're keeping up short term buffs like Divine Power and Divine Favor), Empower Healing (over-kill IMO, given that Heal overheals anything other than a no-amp Warforged* gimp) or Shield Mastery (not as useful post expansion, but still a healthy bit of damage mitigation).

For a melee build, Two-handed fighting like Mirys was, Power Attack and Improved Critical were her feats of choice, and I think I took extend because I did keep Divine Favor and Power going full time. Two-weapon fighting melee FvS are a pain, because you need TWF, ITWF, GTWF, IC:X, Quicken, and Toughness as required, with Maximize and Empower desired. And that's assuming you don't take a weapon proficiency, and instead use your favored weapon. Most TWF FvS go with two levels of Monk for two extra feats and a useful Evasion.

As for races, DDO even in the highest end of play is not so punishing to race choices outside of Warforged*. Drow are tied for the weakest race, with Elf, but either is perfectly viable with a good build, player, and/or gear. I usually recommend Human or Half-elf; Humans have the extra feat, and Half-Elves have unmatched versatility in builds.

*
1 - Warforged suffer a 50% healing penalty. This can be brought up with enhancements and rare gear. But, this cripples them as a melee race. Don't let anyone fool you into thinking you don't need healing amp as a Warforged; Warforged melee without Healer's Friend at least to 2, and as much healing amp as they can scrounge on their gear is as useless as a 6 CON Drow Rogue in an Epic with no traps. Warforged Artificers and arcane casters can heal themselves, using repair spells. So they can skimp on it, though I took Healer's Friend II on Pump.

2 - Post expansion, potency type effects are changed. Specific type boosts, like Devotion or Combustion, are far stronger than general Potency. So you'll want Devotion on full time as a divine, and want to try and slot Brilliance (I think) as well for your light spells and Impulse for Blade Barrier (which is affected by Force-type enhancements).

With 8 people, we could definitely fit in two capable groups. I'd suggest setting Trevor and Alrik on different teams, as they're not as geared as our TRs, and Alrik isn't as experienced.

This of course means each group will need a trap-capable character though, and a divine caster. It also means we have to take turns throwing Grease at Peter. We can use hires to fill in as needed.

Of course, we could swap as needed, in the case of traps. One group running stuff not needing a trap monkey, the other getting me. Then swapping. It would largely depend on Alrik and Trevor's decision in what to run.

— It was the night before Hogswatch…

I became insane with long intervals of horrible sanity - Edgar Allan Poe

Originally Posted by Corwin
I certainly like the concept of 2 groups IF Alrik (and anyone else) is willing to commit to playing regularly on a Friday night.

In my case, the problem is really the time zone. I really don't know how Peter manages it to do, but I can't stay up late in the night. I really need my sleep. Remember, when I left the group runs with you I always left when it was around 3 in the morning local time.

The last 2 Fridays I was more or less ready, but failed to get my Skype up - so I went into Gianthold independently from/of you.

To be honest, I have real problems with me preferring to type. I mean, I prefer typing in quests meanwhile you all prefer talking - This is not that much of a problem, but it's just something I'm not used to.

Sometimes I wish I could get some response when I was typing the question about what you have that evening. I would be ready to offer my help, then. And switch characters, if needed.
Or at least a response saying that you are ready using Skype. I don't have mine running all of the time because you all are currently my only Skype contact (apart from the game master of an John Sinclair [horror-themed] forum role playing game that proceeds like a very slow snail). So then I could start Skype, plug in my headset (I normally play with my headphones only), and I'd be ready, then.

And, to be honest, I miss some kind of plan/schedule list. Of course, things can be layed out directly before running the session, but sometimes I'd like to be a bit prepered. I have several configurations ready depending on the quest, and my usual was is of running through a quest with the inv open and applying items on the fly - I should really reasign my bars and place them rather there, I know.
A kind of schedule - let's say on the guild "message of the day" thing - would enable me to plan better towards fridays.

What I see as well is some kind of some light communications gap which is mainly due to the different time zone I'm living in, plus that I'm so much different than you all are in many points.

As I once put it, it's sometimes to me like … you re fast cars in a racing course and I am a slow car. You progress so much faster than I do (mainly because we have different play styles, it seems to me), and at least once per round (in the racing course) we meet again - but at completely different levels, mostly.

Ah, and yes, the playing style : Me, I'm rather what is called in the forums a "flower sniffer" meanwhile you have a rather fast playing style. That's why I'm a slow car.

I don't see a real problem with the way we play, but I do see some quirks at times - especially regarding that I'm (seemingly) so much different than you are, plus luving in a completely different time zone (it still is a complte riddle to me how Peter manages to do it - but I almost assume it's because I'm an HSP - and they actually need much, much more recuperation time that normal people do. Trust me, I know it from the HSP community ).

— “ Any intelligent fool can make things bigger, more complex, and more violent. It takes a touch of genius – and a lot of courage – to move in the opposite direction.“ (E.F.Schumacher, Economist, Source)

Originally Posted by azraelck
Alrik, Favored Souls chose spells as they level. They get only a limited selection, which costs plat to swap one spell at a time at the trainer. This is why I suggested Cleric first; Clerics get all the spells they can know when they level up, and can swap them in and out as they need to. So you can learn what works well and where, and what to take when you do run a FvS.

Only Wizards and Artificers inscribe scrolls into their books. Clerics and Druids get all their available spells, Sorcerers, Favored Souls, and Bards have to choose spells as they level, and can't swap them except at a trainer.

[…]

Quite honestly, I'd get 32 point builds opened up before building a FvS. Makes it so much easier. Those 4 points mean a 14 STR, which will be useful early on as you don't have any great offensive spells until spell level 5.

Thank you for your suggestions & advice. Very much appreciated.

I think I should really start a Cleric then first, to get used to it.

I think I already have Veteran status (through favour points) available, but I must check again - or was it 32 points builds ? Edit - According to the Wiki I think I have the first Veteran status and I'm halfway into Champion. That's why I'm currently doing all low-level quests on hard & then elite difficulty, to get the points.

One rather crazy question : Does it make sense to give a Cleric a splash of FVS ?

Originally Posted by azraelck
Of course, we could swap as needed, in the case of traps. One group running stuff not needing a trap monkey, the other getting me. Then swapping. It would largely depend on Alrik and Trevor's decision in what to run.

You can have my level 5 Arti as the trap monkey. I just need to know when.
My level 9 Wizard is currently training his crowd control capabilities.

— “ Any intelligent fool can make things bigger, more complex, and more violent. It takes a touch of genius – and a lot of courage – to move in the opposite direction.“ (E.F.Schumacher, Economist, Source)

Alrick, if you want to type ingame and just listen that is fine with us. As to the what, we often decide that when we first get in game on Fridays, but can try to remember to heads up you is some form. As to the game play, I think it is just our having run so many times and knowing the areas by heart. Don't blame you for wanting to explore and see the game proper, we have all done it.
Now as to not getting a response from any of us, just yell louder. Honestly, we party form and most don't have guild chat tab open. No ping when you post there, so send a tell to anyone who is on. Have skype up and running, even if you end up not joining in. Then you can hear the discussions and we can go from there. Honestly, I miss more guild chat stuff then I see. I am looking at inventory or bankslots or wiki or all of the above when I log and it just does not get my attention most times. Might be my eyes? lol
Anyway, the time thing is a decision you have to make. I know I couldn't do it. My brain goes to sleep even if I am still sitting at the pc. hehe

— Bart and Corwin should just admit that when it gets down to it, I will have the final say.

I think having a FvS splash for a cleric is not a good idea at all. Most clerics remain pure clerics due to the capstone (divine intervention). It's even more important for favored souls to remain pure. At level 20 they get capstone with DR10 and +2 charisma and get a cure light wounds ability that costs no mana.

The reason to make a splash is to get the benefits of the other class. E. g. 2 levels of rogue will give you evasion and that's a really great feat to have.

If you want to try a cleric with a splash you can try the clonk (cleric 18 and monk 2 or cleric 17 and monk 3). This combo is great because both classes require wisdom.

Azraelck can probably tell you all about the benefit of this combo and suggest a build for you. You get a great healer with melee capability and evasion. With the clonk you get all spells up to level 9 (a few level 8-9 spells, but there aren't many to chose from). By sacrificing the capstone and some mana you get some important monk abilities. A clonk is more survivable than a pure cleric.

I agree with Azraelck that we should enter Korthos and only run the required city quests to leave the island. Then we can become guild members and use the ship buffs and loot in the bank. Then we can all return to Korthos to do the slayers, rare and the outdoor quests.

The city quests are very fast and simple so we can easily do them on elite. Shall we do these solo or in a pug or them together too?

The reason this is discussed is because Korthos is considered to be of two sides. The initial side is called the snowy side and the side when you return to Korthos is called the sunny side. The problem is that characters on the sunny side can't be in a group with characters on the snowy side. So we should try to get to the sunny side as soon as we can

Originally Posted by Peter Stauffenberg
The city quests are very fast and simple so we can easily do them on elite. Shall we do these solo or in a pug or them together too?

Several of us won't be able to open on elite without running multiple times and potentially racking up too much XP. My proposal is that we each solo just the town on normal and leave the island. Then, as a group, we return and do the whole thing (town and outside) on elite.

A side benefit of this approach is that all the "administrative stuff" like gear and guild invites and such don't happen in the middle of a Friday session. I don't think first lifers would get a level from the 4 town quests on normal, so the group should have no problem staying together level-wise.

— Sorry. No pearls of wisdom in this oyster.
Dallas Cowboys: Great Season! / / Detroit Red Wings: Another rollercoaster this year?

Originally Posted by Cm
Ok what did I miss……….why are we having characters in Korthos? Or are you talking about when we TR?

Yep, TR version2.0.

Originally Posted by Cm
Had to try to start game 2 times to get downloads to all take.

I think it updated the launcher 8 times for me. I don't know if some of those were due to changing the host file like Az described when they did their dns flush, but at least a couple of the iterations were after I put the old host file back in place.

— Sorry. No pearls of wisdom in this oyster.
Dallas Cowboys: Great Season! / / Detroit Red Wings: Another rollercoaster this year?

Originally Posted by dteowner
I think it updated the launcher 8 times for me.

During the last days of the last week it updated 5 times or so for me as well - but only tiny updates.

I didn't run the new update so far.

I think I'll be doing a Cleric within this week, and then wait with him until I see you all arriving (if I can tell you apart from the other Newbies there, that is).

— “ Any intelligent fool can make things bigger, more complex, and more violent. It takes a touch of genius – and a lot of courage – to move in the opposite direction.“ (E.F.Schumacher, Economist, Source)

In general, multi-classing casters isn't a great idea. Clerics and Favored Souls (and probably Druids now as well) often take two levels of Monk, for evasion and because they get 2 more Wisdom in Water stance as well as two feats. But it's always a trade off. Wizards can be seen with two levels of Rogue for evasion and something to do with the 15000 skill points they get each level.

The trick to multiclassing is finding combinations that work together. That is partially why multi-class casters are a bad idea; very very little works well with one, and they are far stronger pure even with the few that do work.

That's why the Exploiter works so well. Rangers get 6 skill points per level, and have Search and Spot as class skills. Meaning that they can max out Disable and Search and Spot and UMD with a 10 INT or by being Human. Add in evasion, self buffing and healing from sp, and some melee capabilities and you have a very versatile character. The 12/6/2 builds typically combine Fighter, Monk, Paladin, Ranger, or Barbarian levels at tier 1 and 2 PrE lines that compliment each other.

Guild ships have been raided, and no longer have amenities. We'll have to rebuy them. At least this will give us a chance to shift things around a little bit for easier access. I'd put the two GS altars across from each other, where the one and the bank is for example. Put the bank in the center of the deck.

I was able to update without a problem, but it is the middle of the day. Logging in briefly to check on some things, and may roll my newbie Druid before logging off and getting ready for Work.

Again, YOU CAN LEAVE KORTHOS AT ANY TIME. YOU DO NOT HAVE TO DO ANY QUESTS EXCEPT THE GROTTO. There is no reason for us to do anything solo or in a pug, nor on multiple runs to get to elite.

*Edit*

Ship Buffs are back. Peter and I took care of it

— It was the night before Hogswatch…

I became insane with long intervals of horrible sanity - Edgar Allan Poe